Topic: The Chit Chat Thread

I've been looking for an excuse to play some old PS1/2 games again. Maybe I'll stream and then review em too, all at once...

I've been playing Battle Chasers a lot this past week and it is really, really good.

On paper something like God of War should trounce this, so why am I absolutely hooked on it, while God of War sits unplayed for nearly a month?

@kyleforrester87 Yer doin' it wrong.

@kyleforrester87 I had to search Battle Chasers because I couldn’t remember anything about the game 😂
Robert’s review actually makes it sound pretty good though.
... but yeah — yer doin’ it wrong.

@Octane @Th3solution Yeah I dunno what it is with AAA games, I find I struggle to enjoy them and it is getting worse. I honestly don't think it's a case of not liking something because it's popular since I don't see myself as being that kind of person. I don't know what it is - it's odd!

@kyleforrester87 Actually, I also have not been inclined to jump into GoW yet. I probably will eventually, and it’s nothing against AAA per se, but for some reason I haven’t felt compelled to drop everything for it. In all fairness to Kratos though, I haven’t done much gaming in general for a few weeks. I actually am a little more curious to try Detroit before GoW because it seems so unique. Nevertheless, I have plenty to keep me busy for now on games I already own.

@KratosMD thing is I am enjoying games, just in recent years I struggle to get excited by the big blockbusters. Horizon was pretty good with Aloy and the good combat but hardly GOTY material imo. And then Uncharted 4 and God of War are just sort of eye rolling to me. And I've zero enthusiasm for Spider-Man.

@kyleforrester87 It depends on what you're looking for in a game I guess!

I'm fine with a lot of games in general. And if there's some production value to it, no matter how big or small the game is, I can find something I like about it. But generally I know that I prefer action-adventures, puzzle and platformer games, so I tend to gravitate towards those; games that can give a sense of immersion, and are generally to the point with little busywork, such as grinding. To me, God of War is exactly that, it's nothing revolutionary, but it's the perfection of a genre, whilst also being unique in some way. It's very similar to Hyper Light Drifter in that regard.

But to each their own of course! You can't like everything! But I cannot imagine there's nothing on the horizon in terms of big games that interest you.

@kyleforrester87 In the same boat here.

A huge game can be entertaining...but I find it very fluff based. Like the priorities aren't in the right place for me to enjoy it.

But if we wanna talk mid-tier games, then let me at em. This is the stuff like Kingdom Hearts (At least the original), Super Mario Odyssey, Mega Man, DOOM, Ratchet, Jak, Sly, Spyro... not the big AAA releases, but the variety of the mid-tier stuff.

Probably why I like Switch so much as that's...pretty much all it gets. Nothing on the PS2 though.

@Octane I think the problem is a lot of AAA games have adopted these RPG-lite mechanics, but you don't really feel like you're earning your enhancements as much as you're simply attaining them. In the end it feels like we're all experiencing the game in a very similar way because every system has been polished and balanced to perfection, and you're just going through the motions as you play.

I think I prefer the "rough and readiness" of a lower budget game, where you might be able to exploit a system to gain super powers in the way another player wouldn't think to, or even where you can end up in an area way out of your depth and get your butt handed to you. It's something BOTW did brilliantly actually, but they set out to do it purposefully, it wasn't something that happened by accident as a result of low budget/resources.

I have to say Bloodborne got it right though.

NL never ceases to amuse me.

Those kinda gymnastics warrant some alcohol. Woo. Too early for this.

@kyleforrester87 your getting older bro. You wont have the same excitement for bog standard games anymore regardless if they are the best ever, as its just a game using the same tried and trusted gameplay loops you have played a thousand times before.

What I have found is my favourite games this gen have been games I didnt really expect to be great but they have a twist in the mechanics which was different to the norm and gave me a reason to find out more. Yakuza (open world beat em up rather than openworld shooter), P4G (friend making game rather than by the numbers jrpg), Videoball (All gameplay, crap graphics designed that way) Rogue Legacy (Rogue like were you keep stuff) The Bunker (low budget FMV game with only 1 actor).

Its probably why we both love Fez, its so far out there compared to a by the numbers action rpg hybrid. You paint pictures in your head of whats going on and are constantly surprised with each new screen.

God of War is fantastic. In fact once my Pes trophy hunt is over its the next game I will put on. But its design is contrived and obvious for all of its graphical wonder and interlocking level design. You have experienced the game upto the lake of the nine in practically the same way I have. You dont paint pictures in your head about what stuff means as its all laid out in front of you. Fez is different you have no idea whats going on.

@KratosMD haha nice one with that comment bro. I will need your help on a project soon mate, Im unsure if you read our comments from a few days ago but it could be a nice project for us gaming gurus.

Speaking of our quest for influential games, I caved and got Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 a month or two ago now. Been live streaming Kingdom Hearts 1.5 since people kept nagging me to play it and...

Wow.

The fact I had a 6 hour live stream of the game and last night had a 2 hour session go for 3 hours while I did side quests just...this game man.

The story is absolute pants but the game itself, yeah it's good.

So as of late I am getting so frustrated with video games. I tried playing CoD:WWII the today and it seemed no matter what I did I just kept getting worked. For every kill In would get I would get killed 3 times. So I figured I would switch to Overwatch and then I just kept getting bad teams where no matter how I hard I tried my team was letting me down. Now I just don't feel like playing any games yet I kinda do just don't want to deal with the aggervation of stupid players and players who are better cause they can afford to play said game all day. It's just so aggervating.

@Tasuki Hey! That EXACTLY what I've been going through recently! No matter what multiplayer game I play (Call of Duty, Overwatch, R6: Siege, Doom, Star Wars Battlefront...you name it), I end up getting annihilated and it makes me wanna quit gaming altogether haha. I get really down, like, "man, I suck, no matter how hard I try! This isn't even fun...I should get a new hobby."

I think the problem is the mixing of good players with bad ones and calling it "balanced." Like yesterday in Black Ops 3, there were often four multi-prestige lvl 50+ players (two on each team) that were killing everyone else. Sure, both teams are balanced in terms of overall power, but said veteran players just make the game hell for everyone else.

I think shooters need to adopt leagues (like fighting games and mobile FPS games have) so that better players are in better leagues and they stay away from noobs or casuals.

...Anyway, for Call of Duty, I find that playing the objective modes (i.e. anything but deathmatch) makes the game MUCH more manageable, namely in that you're less likely to get shot in the back (since enemy players don't wander randomly) and kills are easier (you have a general idea where people will be thanks to objectives).

For team-based games like Overwatch and R6:S...unless you want to talk to strangers (I don't...I always have chat muted) or are playing with friends (best way to go), getting grouped up with a bunch of dummies is unavoidable! In that case, I just go off on my own with the more lone-wolf characters (i.e. Sombra sneaking behind enemy lines and then teleporting away).

@Tasuki I've felt that way in the past about Halo and Tekken, especially with Tekken since fighting games require a lot of practice and knowledge. Even then, there's the ever looming fear of lag (my last two Tekken videos are basically about my hatred of lag) and the occasional elitist who'll troll you until you quit (thankfully they're not common anymore, but they still exist), yeah it's easy to get frustrated.

Nowadays I'm more frustrated at myself for being lazy with practice and making dumb mistakes during games. I'd be lying if I said I don't still have those spirit breaking losses, though.

@smelly_jr I totally agree, I wish games like CoD had a causal mode for people like me. I honesty think they should group people up with people who have similar KDRs but I don't know how hard that would be. Usually I play hardcore in CoD and either Kill Confirmed or Domination.

As for Overwatch, even when I did try using a mic I would get idiots telling me to shut up and that I don't know how to play the game or people just didn't listen.

@DerMeister It's not that I am lazy it's mainly due to work, family and other "adult" responsibilities I can't devote 12 hours of playing the same game over and over till I learn the ins and outs of the game like I did with Tekken 3 when I was a teenager. I just get so frustrated when I get thrown against people who do have those skills because the either don't have those responsibilities like kids or just don't care, basically your adults living in their parents basement living off of them.

@Tasuki This is the problem with online competitive games. I quit Rocket League last year, deleted the game etc. I didnt have the time or ability to commit to training and to reach a high tier as much as I wanted to be better, I also think my reflexes are slightly less responsive these days. I kept getting bundled with crazies, dropping out of games after conceding 1 whole goal, chatting abuse when you miss a tough chance etc. I couldnt be bothered in the end and I wasnt getting any better and the regular insults put me right off.

I do think its unfair to label people better than you as losers living in their parents basement though. With every competitive sport or game, naturally gifted individuals and people who put in the hard graft will beat people who dont. Its just a fact of life. As for playing with randoms, expect the worst. Why are they playing a team game alone and then giving others grief in the first place? You wont win any friends that way.

You do get lucky occasionally, like I did today in pes 2018 co-op with a goliath of a defensive player. I have put proper time into getting good at forward play myself using the training sub menu. I understand the mechanics in front of goal to a very high level so we complimented each others style and absolutely battered other co-op teams who didnt work together as well.